“Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?” I am ever so thankful when God permits me to encounter him in the profound silence of my heart, in the gentle quiet of my surroundings, in the stillness of my poor soul. The world turns off, it ceases to exist and I alone exist but for a brief and fleeting moment – there is God, there is me – there is nothing else – just God, just me. I hear the tiny whisper of God’s voice. It draws my attention, it captures the moment, it stirs my heart. The mutual exchange of a penetrating glance, the desire to be known, the hope to be loved causes an ocean of tears to fill my eyes, they storm the room, they flood my poor soul with the sweet dew of heavenly joy mixed with earthly sorrow. Then God speaks a word or two and suddenly all that I need is given, divine truth rendered, divine mercy offered, divine love poured out. And in a brief moment when words are no longer necessary, for they add nothing to God’s beauty or greatness, they only move us from the heart to the mind, from the experience to a thought, from the feeling to a memory, from an encounter to a distraction, God provides a glimpse of Heaven and provides us with the doorway to his heart. Don’t you want to enter? Don’t you want to seek this moment with God? Doesn’t your heart long for even a minute or a fleeting moment with God? Are you willing to wait patiently for the whisper of God’s voice even if it takes 5 minutes of prayer, 10 minutes of silence, 15 minutes more even if it doesn’t come quickly? Are you willing to seek God with a good and holy intention, with a sincere and contrite heart, with a poor or rejoicing soul, with a desire for holy communion at the possibility of hearing God’s voice give you the answer to your prayer, or provide you with a word of blessing or encouragement, or a cause for hope or joy, or simply to say “I love you” or “I forgive you?” Prayer at times can seem dry, desolate, pointless, fruitless, uneventful and even perhaps a waste of time. But in the end, isn’t it sill worth it knowing that you are really in God’s presence? God has given us the words that will capture his heart, his ear, his attention. He is really listening and has something to say. Do you have a moment to spare?